Virender Sehwag thinks Pakistan will have advantage over India in Asia Cup 2018

Sehwag isn't happy with the fixtures and wants India to pull out of the tournament.

Asia Cup 2018 fixures are out and the tournament which is set to be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will see India and Pakistan in the same group. While fans are excited to watch the arch-rivals clash after ICC Champions Trophy 2018, former India cricketer Virender Sehwag isn't happy with the schedule.

For Sehwag, the problem isn't India and Pakistan, but the men in blue are not getting a single day off in between two group stage matches.

India will play the winner of qualifiers just a day before facing Pakistan. This could be tiring for the team as playing back-to-back ODI cricket that too after a long UK tour isn't going to be easy for team India.

The tournament is set to kick-off from September 15 and the first game will be played between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

"I am really shocked to see the scheduling because which country plays back-to-back cricket matches these days? There was a gap of two days in between the T20 matches in England and here you are playing ODIs under hot Dubai weather and that too without a break. So, I don't think this is a correct scheduling," Sehwag told IndiaTV.

Sehwag isn't happy with BCCI for not raising their voice and accepting the fixtures that may backfire. "There shouldn't be any back-to-back games. If the BCCI had to cancel anything then it should have been the qualifier game in the Asia Cup rather than reducing the four-day practice match against Essex to three days. A player needs at least 48 hours to recover after playing an ODI match because you field for 3.5 hours and after that if you bat for 2 hours then it makes your total time spent on the ground to 5.5 hours. So, it takes a minimum of 24 to 48 hours for a player to recover," he added.

The former India opener knows the schedule will help Pakistan when they will take on India in the group stage game. "When Team India will play the Asia Cup in Dubai in September, there will be too much heat and it will hamper the players' recovery process. Pakistan will be in a good shape whereas the Indian players will be tired. And if we end up losing the match, then there might be a problem as we all are very passionate whenever we play against Pakistan. We always want India to win against Pakistan but if the Indian players are tired then Pakistan will definitely have the advantage," he said.

Sehwag even went on to say that India should have pulled out of the tournament. "Why there's such hue and cry over playing the Asia Cup? Don't play the Asia Cup. Prepare the team for the home series or the away series. It's really difficult to play back-to-back games," he concluded.